Twisted Minds
by Thireven
Summary: Nairia, the daughter of Franken and Marie Stein, is finally getting her chance to attend the academy. But will the other students accept her for her odd behavior and strange habits?


I've been reading Soul Eater lately, and I figured that it was about time I wrote a fanfic for it. This is AU, meaning that the characters won't act exactly like their counterparts from the manga. Fair warning.

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"Nairia!" Stein's voice bounced off the walls, echoing down the empty hallways of the Patchwork Laboratory. There was no answer- only silence greeted him as he hurriedly walked down the hall, eyes darting back and forth frantically as he strained his ears to pick up the slightest noise. He asked himself silently where the child could have gone to so quickly. When he heard nothing, he took a deep breath and, once again, shouted, "Nairia!"

He had turned his back on her for only a few minutes to fetch the six-year old the medicine she was meant to take every morning, but when he had returned with the medication and glass of water, she had disappeared. He was well aware of the fact that the child was prone to sudden games of hide and seek. He also knew that if she were not found within two minutes, she would reappear and grab hold of his legs, sobbing about how terrible he was for not finding her even when he had no interest.

This was no simple game of hide and seek, however. Fifteen minutes had past, and Stein felt his heart hammering in his chest. It was not often that he could feel even a bit of fear; however, this was his daughter, and she was predictable. There was no reasonable explanation as to why she would suddenly leave her coloring books to hide herself away for such a prolonged amount of time. She hated being alone, and right now, she most likely was.

He had checked every room in the right half of the building, and now he was making his way to the left side. As he walked, he pondered the possibility that she had to use the bathroom. It _was_ possible, since there were times when she would randomly catch the stomach flu and make a mad dash to the bathroom. Perhaps she was in the bathroom now. He nodded to himself, knowing that would be where he would check next.

It took Stein hardly half a minute to reach the bathroom. He grasped the doorknob, and then paused, frowning. He let go and knocked while he placed his ear against the wood, asking quietly, "Nairia? Are you feeling sick?"

Once again, there was no answer, only a dreadful taciturnity that hung over the lab.

He stood straight and was about to walk away when there was a small giggle. He turned his head to the bathroom, eyes slightly widened. There was a second giggle, followed by another, until they were coming out in rapid succession, sounding twisted and hysterical. The fear that had gripped Stein's heart tightened. He struggled to grasp the doorknob, but the door was locked. Without hesitation, his heavy booted feet slammed into the wood, shattering.

"Nairia-" He began, only to cut himself off as a look of pure terror washed over him.

The young girl sat there in a pool of blood, one hand splashing the blood playfully as more of the life substance ran down from the cuts on her arms. The other hand was trailing a poorly stitched cut under her left eye, both of which were staring forward sightlessly. Her sandy colored hair hung in her face, stained with her own blood. The giggles were still coming from her mouth, which was pulling upwards in a sick grin. He was frozen in place, pupils shrinking, shaking.

Nairia seemed to finally notice his presence, turning her head to the left so that she could stare at him with her golden-green eyes. Her grin changed into a pleasant smile.

"Look, daddy. I look like you now, don't I?" She asked, the giggles coming back to echo in her father's head. "Aren't you happy, daddy? I'm just like you."

Finally snapping out of the terror, Stein dashed forward to kneel and wrap his arms around his daughter, tears stinging his eyes. He cradled her as he stood, and before his thoughts gathered themselves, he was running through the building full-force, heading for his lab. He burst through the doors without a second thought.

Never in his life did he think that he would be doing a surgery, although minor, on his own daughter. He worked furiously to pull out the terribly done stitches as painlessly as possible. However, a giggle from Nairia caused him to wince, and it made him slip up. One of the stitches tore a small piece of skin, and that seemed to bring his daughter back. She cried out in pain. Stein scrambled to grab some of the children's sedative off a self and inject her. He laid her down gently and quickly finished his first task.

He was worried about redoing the stitches now that the ones his daughter had done were out. Biting his bottom lip, he shook his head and, as fast as he could, began to stitch close the ugly cut. Once he pulled the last stitch, he went to find the bandages. He was quick to wrap her arms in the white cloth.

Stein gathered his little girl into his arms and sat on the floor, holding her tightly as he rocked back and forth, strained laughs escaping his throat. He rubbed his hand down the back of her hair as she slept. Quietly, he muttered, _"Nairia,"_ as his green eyes looked at the stitched cut. It stretched from the edge of her ear, ran underneath her left eye, and across her forehead. He found himself laughing again, clutching the unconscious girl tightly. _"Why?"_ He hissed, tears finally sliding down his face. _"Why?"_


End file.
